42 



(Wales), and some say in Gm-^many and Cumberland ; " Ri- 

 phath" in the Riphaean mountains ; " Madai" in Media ; 

 " Elisha" in Hellas and FjIu ; " Tarshish'' in Tartessus (Cadiz) ; 

 "Meshech" in the Moschian mountains; "Javan'' in the 

 Ionian isles; and "Dodanim" or ''Rhodanim'' in Dodona 

 and the Bhone."^ 



In after times, when such names had ceased to be so neces- 

 sary or so natural, men sought to perpetuate the memory of 

 themselves or of their friends. David, speaking of selfish and 

 unwise men, says, " their inward thought is that their houses 

 shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all genera- 

 tions : they call their lands after their ovm names."\ An inter- 

 esting example of this is recorded in connexion with his own 

 family: — for Absalom, fearing that he would die childless, 

 erected a pillar in the King's Dale near Jerusalem, and called it 

 " Absalom^ s Pillar ."% But even within our own island there are 

 many names derived from the ancient tribes of the people or 

 from individuals ; and the practice of giving such names to 

 modern towns, villages, streets, and districts, is still continued. 

 It is astonishing how much anxiety mankind exhibit, to 

 associate the names of illustrious persons with particular places, 

 without the slightest regard to national convenience. The 

 following is a curious illustration. 



The name Washington occurs no fewer than 184 times in 

 connexion with localities in the United States; Adams, 37 

 times; Jefferson, 78 times; Madison, 56 times; and Monroe, 

 62 times. Thus the names of the first five Presidents occur 

 367 times, or at an average of 74 times each. The name 

 Washington is given to 82 towns and 20 counties, besides 

 parishes, villages, post-offices, &c. § 



* Arranged chiefly from Dr. Pye Smith's Analysis of the Researches of German 

 Scholars, in the Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature. See also Alexander's Geography 

 of the Bible, and .Mansford's Scripture Gazetteer. 



+ Psalm xlix. 11. t 2 Sam. xviii. 18. 



\ Smith's Gazetteer of the United States. 1^4r». Morse's American Gazetteer was 

 pablishe<l in 1707, and in the 2nd edition (17981, there are only 2/5 Washiniffons. 



